Russ Carnahan

Russ Carnahan

John Russell "Russ" Carnahan (born July 10, 1958 in Columbia , Missouri ) is an American politician of the Democratic Party . He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in November 2004 , where he represented the state of Missouri from 2005 to 2013 .

Russ Carnahan is the son of the late Mel Carnahan , former governor of Missouri, and former US Senator Jean Carnahan . His sister Robin Carnahan has held the office of Secretary of State of Missouri since 2004 and ran unsuccessfully against Roy Blunt for the US Senate in 2010 .

In 1979 Carnahan received his bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia , and in 1983 he received a Juris Doctor from that university's law school . He first applied for political office in the House of Representatives election of 1990 , where he was clearly defeated by the Republican incumbent Bill Emerson with a 42.7 percent share of the vote. From 2002 to 2004 he was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives , before running again for Congress in 2004 and this time was successful: With 52.9 percent of the vote, he defeated the Republican William J. Federer and thus succeeded him in January 2005 of the no longer candidate Dick Gephardt .

As a result, Carnahan was confirmed by a large majority in 2006 and 2008 . Even after the elections of 2010 , which brought the Democrats great losses nationwide, he kept his seat; however, with a share of 48.9 percent, he did not even achieve an absolute majority compared to the Republican challenger Ed Martin (46.7 percent). In the internal party primaries for the 2012 congressional election, Carnahan was defeated by his rival Eric C. Mayer, who was then defeated by the Republican candidate Blaine Luetkemeyer . Carnahan's congress career ended on January 3, 2013.

Carnahan, who belongs to the New Democrat Coalition , was a member of the House of Representatives on the Transport Committee , the Veterans Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as a total of six sub-committees.

Web links

• Russ Carnahan in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Voting behavior, documented by the Washington Post